Portugal, Spain get upper hand over major wildfires

LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Authorities in Portugal say they have brought under control a major wildfire in the south of the country after a weeklong effort.

The Civil Protection Agency said Friday that almost 1,400 firefighters and nearly 450 vehicles are still at the scene to prevent flare-ups.

The blaze in the forested hills around Monchique, in Portugal's Algarve region, injured 41 people, one of them seriously, and charred about 27,000 hectares (66,700 acres) of woodland. Several dozen houses are thought to have burned down.

In neighboring Spain, officials said they expected to bring under control by the afternoon a five-day wildfire near Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast.

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